Nō te 13 o Ākuhata o te tau 1904 i whānau ai a Gareeb Stephen Shalfoon ki Ōpōtiki. Ko Rāria (Mary) Hopa te māmā, ko George Shalfoon te pāpā, he kaiwhakahaere toa tana mahi. Nō ngā tino hapū e ono o Te Whakatōhea te māmā, ā, ko Ngāi Tama (ko Ngāi Tamahaua te roanga atu o tēnei īngoa) tōna hapū tūturu; i whānau tōna pāpā ki Ramahiku (Damascus). Ko Karepi te whakamāoritanga o te īngoa o Gareeb, ā, nō muri i whakapototia ki a Epi. He nui te rongo o tēnei whānau ki roto o Te Whakatōhea. I tipu ake a Epi i roto i te Hāhi Katorika, ā, i kuraina ia ki te kura kawenati i te tāone o Ōpōtiki, me te kura o Woodlands i waho paku mai i ngā tapa o Ōpōtiki; i tana mutunga i reira ko tana haerenga tēnā ki te kura tuarua o Tāmaki-makau-rau (Auckland Grammar School).
I a ia e tamariki tonu ana, ka tīmata tana aronga ki ngā mahi puoro, ā, e hia tau kē nei ia e akona ana e Charles Anderson o Ōpōtiki ki te whakatangitangi piana. Ka tae nei ia ki te kura tuarua o Tāmaki-makau-rau, ka haere tonu tana mahi ako i te piana. Nā te whakarongo ki te puoro o Amerika i runga i te irirangi aratuku poto, i ū ai tana hiahia ki te puoro hou o Amerika o taua wā, arā, ki te jazz. Nō te tīmatanga o te tekau tau atu i 1920, ka tīmata tana purei i te piana i ngā kanikani o te kāinga. I te tau 1924, ka whakatūria e ia tana pēne tuatahi, ko ngā Melody Boys te īngoa. Ka noho tonu tēnei hei īngoa mō āna pēne o muri mai, i a ia i Rotorua tae atu ki Tāmaki-makau-rau. Nāwai rā kua tahuri ia ki te ako tonu i a ia ki te purei i te rehu matangi me te rehu kōkō, nā te mea kua ngāwari noa te kite tangata e mōhio ana ki te patu piana. Tokorua nei ōna tāina i roto i tana pēne i Ōpōtiki, ā, ko tētahi, ko Toni (Tony), e hia kē nei ngā tau i mau tonu ai i tōna taha.
I te 15 o Maehe i te tau 1926, ka moea e Epi a Yvonne Eleanor Hawkins, i Tūranga (Gisborne). Ka noho nei rāua ki Ōpōtiki, mahi ake ana a Epi i te toa a tōna whānau, arā, he toa hokohoko i ngā mea katoa. I tua atu i āna mahi puoro, he tangata pai ia ki ngā mahi tākaro, uru ana ki ngā tīma whutupaoro, hōkī me ngā mahi omaoma mō Ōpōtiki. Nā te taka i te motupaika i a ia e whakataetae ana, ka whara, ka mutu te kaiaka. Kātahi ia ka huri ki te purei korowha, ā, kāore i ārikarika tana pai ki tēnei tākaro.
Kia taea e ia te whai tonu i ngā mahi puoro, ka nuku rāua ko tana wahine me tā rāua tamāhine, me Reo, ki Rotorua i te tau 1929, ā, i reira hoki ana hungarei e whakahaere ana i te Hōtēra Lake House i Ōhinemutu. I te tīmatanga o te tau 1930, i whakatuwheratia e ia tāna ake toa puoru i te tiriti o Te Arawa i tētahi taha atu o te poutāpeta tawhito o Rotorua. I taua tau anō i mahia e rātau ko Deane Waretini, ko Ana Hato ētahi kiriata poto e toru mā te Tari Tūruhi me ngā Whakatauanga Hauora, me te Whakaaturanga (Department of Tourist and Health Resorts and Publicity). Āhua nui tonu nei ngā tārua kiriata i tukua ki Poihākena (Sydney) hei tohatohanga ki ngā whare tapere o reira. Ka whakahautia anō e ia he kiriata poto hei whakaatu i tana pēne, ēngari nā te tino hē o te kiriata, kāore i utua e ia te kamupene nei a Filmcraft, mō tā rātau mahi nei. Kātahi ka karawhiua e taua kamupene ki te ture, ēngari nō te whakarongotanga a te kaiwhakawā ki ngā wero a tētahi taha, a tētahi taha, me tana mātakitaki anō i te kiriata, toa ana ko Epi. Ina noa nei, i te tau 1995, i te hui ā-tau a te rōpū ā-taiao whakaemi rekoata o te puoro jazz (International Association of Jazz Record Collectors) i Memepihi (Memphis), i Tennessee, i pāhotia te ara pūoru o taua kiriata. E ai ki te kōrero, koirā te rekoata tuatahi o te jazz i puta i Aotearoa.
Mai i Rotorua i haerea nuitia e Epi me tana pēne te nuku o Te Ika-a-Māui. Whā tekau, nuku atu rānei, ngā tāone i haerea e rātau, mai i Pōneke (Wellington) ki Ākarana (Auckland). He mate kē anō i puta ake i ā rātau haere, whakahē ana ngā kaiwhakatangi puoro nō rātau kē te takiwā e haerea nei, tuhi atu ai i ā rātau reta amuamu ki ngā ētita nūpepa. I a rātau e whakangahau ana i te hōro o te tāone o Tūranga i te tau 1933, i pāho mai rātau i runga i te teihana irirangi o 2ZJ.
I ngā tau pokapū o te tekau tau atu i 1930, ka mate nei ngā mahi puoro me ngā mahi tūruhi i Rotorua i te wā o te korekore, ka neke atu a Epi rātau ko te whānau ki Ākarana. Nō mua tonu i tō rātau wehenga atu i te tau 1935 ka whānau tana tamāhine tuarua a Glyn. Whai mahi ana a Epi i Ākarana i te Kamupene Piana o Atwaters (Atwaters Piano Company) i te tiriti e whiti ana i Horotiu (Queen Street). I whakatūria anō e ia tana pēne i Ākarana, ā, i tēnā wāhi, i tēnā wāhi, mutu mai i te whare tapere o te Crystal Palace i Maungawhau (Mount Eden), haina haere ana ia i ana kirimina. Tekau mā waru tau ia i te Crystal Palace e whakangahau ana, ia pō Hātarei.
Mai i te tau 1939 ki te tau 1948 he mema kaiwhakahaere a Epi nō te uniana kaiwhakatangitangi o Ākarana (Auckland Musicians' Union). He māngai anō hoki ia i ngā hui o te motu a tēnei uniana, ā, nō tana whakatātanga mai i te rōpū whakahaere, i noho tonu ia hei mema ngangahau kaupapa mō taua uniana. I te wā o te Pakanga Tuarua, he hāereere tonu tana mahi ki te whakangahau i ngā hui a ngā kaitū taua me ngā tūroro i whara i te pakanga, e whakamātūtū ana i te hōhipera o Ākarana. He pērā anō ngā kanikani mō ngā kaitū taua o Aotearoa me Amerika, ā, whakangahau mai anō hoki ia me tana pēne i runga i te 'Diggers' Session' a Rod Talbot, i te teihana 1ZB. Nō ēnei tau ka uru mai tana tamāhine a Reo hei kaiwaiata mō tana pēne.
Nō te mutunga o te pakanga, ka nui ake te penehīni, ka tīmata anō te hāereere a Epi me tana pēne i te nuku o te whenua, arā, i te rohe o Ngā Kurī-a-Whārei ki Tihirau (Bay of Plenty). He wā anō, riro ana rātau mā runga waka rererangi ki Whāngārei rā anō, purei ai. E hia hoki ngā tau e whakangahau ana ia pō i waenganui i te Kirihimete me te Tau Hou, i Maunganui me te one o Waihī. Nō ēnei wā pea, i puta ai tā rātau rekoata i te whare hopu reo o TANZA (TANZA Studios). Koirā anake te rekoata i mahia ai e rātau, ā, noho ana ko Reo te kaiwaiata, ko Glyn e waiata ake ana i te kapa tautoko.
I ngā tau tīmatanga o te tekau tau atu i 1950, ka tīmata te heke haere o te ora o Epi Shalfoon. Nō te 23 o Mei i te tau 1953 i mate ai. He mea tope tū tonu i a rāua ko tana tamāhine ko Reo e kanikani ana i te Crystal Palace. Whā tekau mā waru noa te pakeke, ā, mahue mai ana i a ia tana pouaru me ā rāua tamāhine tokorua.
He tangata āwhina a Epi i ngā kaiwhakatangitangi taitamariki e tūmanako ana ki te whai i te ao puoro. Ko ia ki te whakawaiwai i te tangata kia whakauru mai ki te pēne mehemea he wāhi wātea, waiata ake rānei i te taha o te pēne. Ko te mea e tino maumaharatia ana, he tangata whakangahau. Nāna tētahi pēne pai ki te whakatangitangi i te puoro e reka ana ki te taringa tangata, ēngari ko te taonga nui katoa o te pēne ko Epi tonu, me tōna wairua whakangahau.